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Business-infiltrant in Britse actiegroep ontmaskerd
globalinfo.nl - 08.04.2008 13:34
De Britse actiegroep Plane Stupid, die probeert mensen in beweging te zetten om echt wat tegen klimaatverandering te doen door acties tegen vliegvelden te organiseren, heeft ontdekt dat een van de vele nieuwkomers een infiltrant is.
De manier waarop Plane Stupid omgegaan is met de zaak, is een goed voorbeeld hoe het moet. Paranoia over infiltratie zorgt er vaak voor dat actiegroepen sectarisch worden en nieuwkomers zich niet welkom voelen. Plane Stupid had openbare vergaderingen uitgeroepen, waar vaak nieuwe (of in ieder geval onbekende) activisten naar toe kwamen. Toen de eerste verdenkingen tegen Toby opkwamen (bijvoorbeeld opmerkelijk veel aandacht voor 'harde actie' en steeds zelf er niet aan mee willen doen) zijn ze voorzichtig wat van zijn gegevens gaan checken, ondertussen hem het voordeel van de twijfel gunnend. Als test hebben ze onder andere een niet bestaande actie aan hem doorverteld en gekeken of daar vervolgens beveiliging op afkwam. De gegevens bleken ook in de media op te duiken. Informatie die de infiltrant gaf over zijn priveleven bleek niet te kloppen (hij was oa. onbekend bij de rugbyclub waar hij zou spelen), waarna ze een afspraak met hem maakten om hem direct te vragen of hij wellicht spioneerde, hetgeen hij aanvankelijk ontkende.
Ondertussen werd bekend dat 'Ken Tobias' in werkelijkheid Toby Kendall heet. Hij werkt voor C2i, een bedrijf dat gespecialiseerd is in 'risk management': ( http://www.c2i-international.com/index.htm) Dat wil zeggen dat ze spioneren en misschien ook wel vuile klussen opknappen voor bedrijven die onder vuur liggen van actiegroepen.
Lees de details over dit hele geval op http://www.planestupid.com. Een fotoserie van de mol vind je hier: http://www.planestupid.com/?q=image/tid/164
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| Read more about: natuur, dier en mens vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten | | supplements | | | Meneer Konijnenberg | Ko Konijnenberg - 09.04.2008 11:38
When former Oxford student "Ken Tobias" volunteered in July to help anti-aviation group Plane Stupid, he was accepted with only a few reservations. He seemed committed to the cause of reducing aviation emissions, but as members of the group which occupied the roof of parliament last month recalled yesterday: "There was something not quite right about him."
In retrospect, it is easy to see why. Tobias was yesterday exposed as Toby Kendall, a corporate spy who works as "an analyst" for C2-i International, the UK's premier "special risk management" and investigation company. He was also accused of acting as an agent provocateur, and planting stories to discredit activists.
Heathrow airport owner, BAA, a target for Plane Stupid protests, confirmed C2i had offered its services in an unsolicited approach but it turned it down. Suspicions were raised because he always turned up first to meetings, always pushed for direct action and dressed too well, activists said yesterday. Suspicions were again raised after identity checks.
"Although Ken lived in London, he wasn't on the electoral register, nor on the records of the rugby team he claimed to have played for," said one activist who identified himself as Graham.
The real activists fed Ken false information about direct action, and within days they heard that UK airport security had been alerted. Moreover, the content and locations of meetings Ken attended appeared in the Evening Standard.
"He was always trying to up the ante," said Graham. "I remember him saying we should block the escalators at the T5 opening and make complete and utter nuisances of ourselves. This appeared in the Standard almost verbatim."
Activists confronted him in a Japanese restaurant in north London. "We asked him if he was a spy and if he could produce a passport. He denied everything, claiming he'd lost his wallet and had no photo ID. We secretly recorded the meeting and took a photo of him leaving to show other groups - but still had no concrete evidence of who he was working for."
The activists remembered his supposed Oxford connection and showed a friend there his photograph. He immediately recognised Ken as Toby Kendall, an Oriental Studies student from Wadham College.
A quick Google search then revealed a Bebo page with a photo revealing Kendall was 24 and liked war and revenge movies, and a link to a corporate networking site, where "Ken" claimed to be an analyst at C2i International, working in "security and investigations".
"For a while we were happy to have him in the group, knowing he was a mole," said Graham. "But eventually Ken's fellow activists said they had to get rid of him."
"He was actually rather stupid," said another activist yesterday. "He left this trail which was easy to follow."
Yesterday "Ken" was not answering calls and C2i declined to respond.
Mystery surrounds who Kendall was working for. BAA denied it had hired him but admitted C2i had pitched its services and had been turned down, although it declined to confirm whether Kendall was mentioned as part of the approach. "We are far more interested in engaging with the real environmental issues, not getting involved in James Bond-style tactics," said a BAA spokesman.
C2i has also stated Kendall was operating on his own and his infiltration of Plane Stupid was not sanctioned.
The Department for Transport has denied any involvement with C2i.
Flying Matters, the aviation industry body set up as a rapid rebuttal unit against environmentalists, said that hiring Kendall would be a "ridiculously disproportionate" response. "It's not the sort of thing we would do," said Michelle Di Leo, Flying Matters director.
British Airways declined to comment on Kendall and refused to confirm or deny whether it paid someone to observe the group. "We never discuss detailed matters of security in public," said BA.
One industry source said the government would be the most likely organisation to pay for a snooping operation: "Plane Stupid are people who, for very noble causes, would be willing to cut through airport fences and run on to runways. I would not be at all surprised if central government had its spooks crawling all over them."
Backstory
Security firms that offer spying services are very reserved when it comes to describing their products and C2i International is no exception. The company describes itself as a "special risk management" business, a common euphemism in its trade. C2i was founded by Justin King who, according to the company's website, was a helicopter pilot in the special forces, and is trained to "British police special operations standards" in surveillance and counter-espionage. From its offices a few hundred metres from Oxford Street in London's West End, the firm offers services in "business protection". However, the Plane Stupid incident is unlikely to join the list of case studies on its website. Examples of C2i's work include providing round-the-clock protection to a foreign company working in Russia and upgrading personal security for the president of a Mexican bank. The company claims it works closely with clients to understand their "unique threatscape" and that the security firm has experience of protecting aviation businesses from external threats. C2i also lists the aerospace industry as one of the industries that has benefited from its expertise in the past.
| | Nederlandse affaires in deze | MM - 12.04.2008 05:15
http://www.google.com/search?q=control+risks+benelux
http://www.google.com/search?q=abc+peter+siebelt&btnG=Search
Ook wel interessant... Op de Control Risks website las ik in het verleden dat de voormalige Amsterdamse commisaris Kees Sietsema uit de kraak hoogtijdagen, zichzelf tot chief Special Operations had benoemt, een term ontleend aan de Britse SAS leden waarmee ze samenwerken. En Sietsema schreef als secretaris het rapport 'niet in de Haak' over de beveiliging van Fortuyn. Hun doel: het bieden van tegenspel aan het links-activisme.
Overigens beoogd het bedrijfje ABC van Peter Siebelt dezelfde doelstelling en was Hans Knoop (uit de blauwe persrat boom van Siebelt) de lobbyman voor de pelsdierfokkers; al dan niet ingehuurd door Control Risks en/of ABC, die hun bestaan danken aan de MAKRO branden die veel gelijkenissen vertonen met de brandstichtingen bij pelsfokkers ( = primaire doelgroep van deze beveilgingsbedrijven).
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Verder zijn er waarschijnlijk vele bedrijven en hun agenten actief op internet. Eenmaal las ik van een lobbybedrijf verbonden aan de kerncentrale Petten en een lobyist van de Stichting Skepsis, dat ze startegische allianties op internet aangingen, ook al had dat niet een direct doel. Helaas maakte ik toen nog geen kopieen van belangrijke info.
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